It's Called Compromise, Mr. Cantor and McConnell
Ever since last Tuesday's midterm elections, the first topic I've heard mentioned by Republicans in either the House or the Senate is extending the Bush tax cuts. These same members of the GOP will state that they're willing to work with President Obama on the issue, but... wait for it... He has to be the one to compromise with them.
Let's back up a second here. The definition of the word compromise is:
a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.
Alright. So, in this case, the two parties have to each make concessions to meet somewhere in the middle. The issue at hand is Bush's tax cuts. The majority of GOPers want them extended for all Americans, including those making over $250,000, which would add approximately $700 billion to the deficit. The majority of Democrats want to extend the tax cuts for 98% of the working public, all those except for individuals making over a quarter of a million dollars annually.
One option is to extend the tax cuts to everyone in this country. Another option is to let the tax cuts expire at year's end for everyone; or the two parties could meet somewhere in the middle. The Democrats have reached 98% across the spectrum. If Republicans were willing to concede 2% compared to 98% by Democrats, we'd have ourselves an extension to most people in this country. But, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and other leaders of the GOP don't seem to be willing to concede that 2%.
In interviews I've read with such members of the Republican Party, while stating that they'd be willing to work with the president on this issue, they also lay claim that he needs to be the one to make concessions. In other words, since there's only 2% of the public left to travel with regard to the tax cuts' extension, they're stating that he needs to fully go along with their plan. I'm sorry, but that's not a compromise. I think Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and a few others may need a vocabulary lesson on that very term.
Unfortunately, I know what's going to happen. Since the president is a Democrat and following the great quantity of losses his party suffered in the midterms, if Obama doesn't concede that final 2%, I have a feeling the GOP won't agree to extending the tax cuts for the other 98%. There will be a stand-off and Obama will likely give in, compromising on an extension for the next year or two. What the GOP needs to contemplate is how to pay for the $700 billion that final 2% will add to the deficit. I haven't heard any specific ideas yet, just vaguery, to go along with slogans and catch phrases. Hopefully the GOP can either concede that final 2% or the two parties can come together to find a way to not add $700 billion to the deficit while extending the tax cuts to all Americans. Call me a pessimist, but I think the GOP will win this battle, because if they don't get their way, they and the right-wing media machine that is Fox News and radio talk shows will lay the full blame on the president and the Democratic Party, even though it was they that would be halting the bottom 98% of the country from being given those tax cuts in the future. It's about time Obama and the Democrats play the game that is the media with as much focus and determination as the GOP. That is one game the Republican Party has dominated for quite some time. It's time for the Democratic Party to stop pussyfooting around and give the 24-hour news media the sound bites needed to dominate a 24-hour news cycle. If they can do that, then and perhaps only then will the GOP actually compromise on the measure and concede the final 2% of the tax cuts.
Alright. So, in this case, the two parties have to each make concessions to meet somewhere in the middle. The issue at hand is Bush's tax cuts. The majority of GOPers want them extended for all Americans, including those making over $250,000, which would add approximately $700 billion to the deficit. The majority of Democrats want to extend the tax cuts for 98% of the working public, all those except for individuals making over a quarter of a million dollars annually.
One option is to extend the tax cuts to everyone in this country. Another option is to let the tax cuts expire at year's end for everyone; or the two parties could meet somewhere in the middle. The Democrats have reached 98% across the spectrum. If Republicans were willing to concede 2% compared to 98% by Democrats, we'd have ourselves an extension to most people in this country. But, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and other leaders of the GOP don't seem to be willing to concede that 2%.
In interviews I've read with such members of the Republican Party, while stating that they'd be willing to work with the president on this issue, they also lay claim that he needs to be the one to make concessions. In other words, since there's only 2% of the public left to travel with regard to the tax cuts' extension, they're stating that he needs to fully go along with their plan. I'm sorry, but that's not a compromise. I think Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and a few others may need a vocabulary lesson on that very term.
Unfortunately, I know what's going to happen. Since the president is a Democrat and following the great quantity of losses his party suffered in the midterms, if Obama doesn't concede that final 2%, I have a feeling the GOP won't agree to extending the tax cuts for the other 98%. There will be a stand-off and Obama will likely give in, compromising on an extension for the next year or two. What the GOP needs to contemplate is how to pay for the $700 billion that final 2% will add to the deficit. I haven't heard any specific ideas yet, just vaguery, to go along with slogans and catch phrases. Hopefully the GOP can either concede that final 2% or the two parties can come together to find a way to not add $700 billion to the deficit while extending the tax cuts to all Americans. Call me a pessimist, but I think the GOP will win this battle, because if they don't get their way, they and the right-wing media machine that is Fox News and radio talk shows will lay the full blame on the president and the Democratic Party, even though it was they that would be halting the bottom 98% of the country from being given those tax cuts in the future. It's about time Obama and the Democrats play the game that is the media with as much focus and determination as the GOP. That is one game the Republican Party has dominated for quite some time. It's time for the Democratic Party to stop pussyfooting around and give the 24-hour news media the sound bites needed to dominate a 24-hour news cycle. If they can do that, then and perhaps only then will the GOP actually compromise on the measure and concede the final 2% of the tax cuts.
posted by Craig @ 9:33 PM
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